1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to production machines for slicing and/or perforating of baked goods such as English muffins, bagels, buns, rolls or the like in a controlled manner, and more particularly to a new and improved self-contained machine for simultaneously slicing and perforating of baked goods, such as English muffins, bagels, buns, rolls or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It long has been recognized that consumers generally prefer pre-sliced and/or perforated English muffins, bagels, buns, rolls or similar baked goods, because slicing by hand causes an inconvenience to the consumer, and very often uneven slices are made, particularly when toasting the sliced baked goods, the goods either will not fit into a conventional toaster aperture or the product may be charred in one part and underdone in another. Machines for pre-slicing or perforating muffins and similar bakery products are described in the prior art, but they are usually complex in structure and often pre-slice or perforate the bakery product in an unsatisfactory manner.
Basically, such prior art devices are divided into two groups, the first group being muffin slicing machines, the second group being muffin perforating machines.
Examples of the slicing machines are as follows:
Ost, U.S. Pat. No. 1,766,450, issued 6/24/30, discloses a muffin cutting machine, which is self-contained, and does utilize a single drive motor for partially or completely slicing muffins, with a straight line passthrough. However there is no provision for perforating the muffins (as opposed to slicing the same), and the patented cutting wheel is located in a vertical plane, as opposed to a horizontal plane.
Ahrndt, U.S. Pat. No. 2,235,546, issued March 18, 1941, discloses a muffin slicing machine wherein the muffins are sliced as they slide down an inclined shute into which the cutting wheel projects. This patent does not disclose a conveyor, it being necessary to push the muffins down by hand, and clearly there is no suggestion of any simultaneous slicing and perforating operations either.
Dettman, U.S. Pat. No. 2,520,000, issued 8/22/50, merely discloses a hot dog slicer wherein the sliding knife protruding down through the slot in the inverted channel frame slices the frankfurter held within such frame.
Schmidt, U.S. Pat. No. 2,686,542, issued Aug. 17, 1954, discloses a machine for simultaneously partially slicing adjacent rows of rolls spread apart by a cutter wheel guide. Once again, there is no provision for perforating such buns or rolls.
Jovis, U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,095, issued Apr. 11, 1961 also shows a fully automatic muffin splitting machine which likewise delivers a separated muffin to the consumer.
Swedish Pat. No. 145,284 (1961) discloses a rusk roll slicing device that splits the roll into two separate and distinct pieces and then separates the top half of the roll from the bottom half to complete the split, for delivery of both halves as separate units to the consumer.
Tobey, U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,175, issued 6/13/72, describes a machine for making pre-sliced English muffins wherein the muffin is pre-sliced by means of a plurality of series arranged rotating cutter disks so that the slicing of the muffin is made in a series of successive cuts, this device being complicated in structure and expensive to manufacture and, because the muffins must pass through a series of rotating blades, often resulting in uneven slices.
Chipchase, U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,763, issued 12/9/80, relates to a rather complex muffin slicing or scoring machine having oppositely driven belts for rotating the muffins as the same are fed to a cutting wheel. There is no disclosure of slicing and perforating muffins, the split belts are located on the same edge of the muffin, which could possibly cause skewing thereof during travel, and separate and complicated takeup devices are necessary for such split belts.
The second group of patents, is directed to perforating machines, as follows:
Weckel, U.S. Pat. No. 2,783,803, issued 3/5/57, merely discloses a cranberry puncturing machine, wherein radially outwardly projecting tines are located on a rotating cylinder. This patented device is otherwise not pertinent.
Clock, U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,976, issued 7/6/65, is directed to a muffin perforating apparatus employing chain driven tines, somewhat similar to Hanson, below, but the Clock tines converge along an arcuate, rather than a diamond shape path, as in Hanson, below.
Noel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,942, issued 5/22/73, relates to a muffin perforating machine but does not provide for pre-slicing of muffins or similar baked goods. In this patent, the tines are reciprocated transversely of the muffins while traveling along the muffin conveyor.
Noel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,084, issued 6/5/73, also discloses a muffin perforating machine, wherein the tines are reciprocated transversely of the muffins, as in the patent just mentioned above, but this patented device also splits the perforated muffins by elevating one of the two transversely movable tine sections. Even so, this patent is no more pertinent than the first mentioned Noel patent.
Hanson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,801, issued 9/8/81, discloses a somewhat complex muffin perforating machine wherein the chain driven blades or tines travel along an elongated diamond shaped path, while at the same time being oscillated transversely of such path for penetration into and removal from the belt driven muffins. Clearly, there is no suggestion of simultaneously slicing a separate row of muffins.
There is, then, an obvious need in the marketplace for a production muffin slicer and perforater that is not only economical to manufacture, but also will produce a uniformly pre-sliced or perforated muffin for use by the consumer. This need has, until now, been fulfilled by the inventor's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,492, issued 4/5/77, wherein the patented device is useful in production operations for slicing or perforating muffins in an even and uniform manner, to provide a uniform top and bottom section thereof, but without separating the top from the bottom of the muffin. The patented device is capable of both slicing and perforating; it is easy to use and reliable and efficient in operation; it also is of a rugged and durable construction, and which, therefore may be quaranteed by the manufacturer to withstand rough and continual usage. In addition, it is simple in construction, and therefore may be economically produced by the manufacturer.
At the same time, the patented device does have limitations. The slicing and perforating operations only can be performed alternately, not simultaneously. More than one drive motor is required to operate the machine; the muffins follow a sequential straight line, arcuate path and then straight line passthrough, increasing the likelihood of jamming, and the patented machine is not self-contained, but rather designed to be mounted over an existing bakery conveyor belt.